OT: How does your garden grow?

[SarinaP]

In addition to figs, what else are you growing/planning for in your garden. I'm also interested in methodology. I've got a combination container garden (potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, and herbs) and in-ground patch (tomatoes, garlic, more herbs, broccoli, beans, etc.). I'm debating trying to propagate my two grapevines into something more productive, and I've also got a number of rosebushes and perennials.

My two prize fruit trees are my fig and a Red Haven peach. Here are some of my favorite garden pics:

[efletche]

I have ginger, garlic, and green onions growing in containers as well as my Datil peppers. I just came back from a neighbors who graciously let me pull up several Prickly Pear Cactus and a Mulberry plant from along the canal, behind his house. I now have several little cacti potted and still thinking what I could do with the long, segmented ones. Same with the mulberry plant. I never rooted one before and I am thinking about how that would work.

[efletche]

To my disappointment, it wasn't a mulberry plant I cut down but a Castorbean plant. An invasive and highly poisonous plant growing here in Central Florida. Bummer...One less fruit to make jelly with.

AS to the prickly pear cactus. I learned NEVER to be cutting them down and pulling them up with only a short sleeve shirt on. I feel little needles in my arms and belly every time I move!!!

[smithmal]

I like container growing as it extends my growing season (soil gets warmer faster in the spring and fall). I'm a big proponent of "square feet gardening" to maximize the different varieties of veggies I can grow. The method that I have been using the past five years is the "drop-line" method which promotes strong support and good circulation. This also means that I prune a lot (especially tomato plants). Below is a link to a jpg diagraming the "drip line method."

http://s11.postimg.org/g48xr8u4z/Dro..._Technique.jpg

Next interest is to create a "duckoponics" and meal worm farm system to create crops/food that I can feed back to my ducks to promote good diet and reduce feed costs.

Duckoponics is the method of filtering water contaminated with duck poo through a biofilter then to a hydroponic crop system to further remove nutrients and filter the water and then send the filtered water back to the duck pond. In between the biofilter and hydroponic system you can also add a tilapia fishery (not sure how I feel about that). Here's a good video on duckoponics. 85% of all US consumed fish come from China and guess what they feed those fish.... duck poo.

Here's a good video discussing how to create a DIY mealworm farm system.

[SarinaP]

Duckoponics sound fascinating!

[SarinaP]

I have ginger, garlic, and green onions growing in containers as well as my Datil peppers. I just came back from a neighbors who graciously let me pull up several Prickly Pear Cactus and a Mulberry plant from along the canal, behind his house. I now have several little cacti potted and still thinking what I could do with the long, segmented ones. Same with the mulberry plant. I never rooted one before and I am thinking about how that would work.

Believe it or not, there's a lady here who grows cactus pears in her front yard in Fairfax, VA. They've taken over the entire portion from the sidewalk to the road and they grow like wildfire. Every year she's out there trimming them back and holding them back with twine so they don't flop over into the street. It's gorgeous when they flower and fruit. If you have a little patch for them to run free, try it. She doesn't give them any snow cover or anything and they are prospering.

[fitzski]

In addition to my every growing fig collection, I grow garlic, tomatoes, leeks, onions, beans, squash, potatoes and a variety of herbs.

Although next year, the veggie garden will be smaller due to digging in some of the potted figs in the garden. I'm hoping this will help decrease watering and increase yield for the figs.

[twovkay]

Wow, nice growing peaches in NOVA. Tomatoes are my favorite veggie along with eggplants, peppers (sweet and hot) and ground cherries.

[SarinaP]

Thanks! It was a $20 tree from Wal-Mart! They do really well in our state, apparently!

[eboone]

My garden is on it's last legs. Still harvesting small side shoots of broccoli and have several late planted broccoli that look like they will head up and be harvested before a killing freeze.
Still getting kale and chard every few days.
The brussel sprouts we usually harvest in December after a couple good cold spells - last year we left a couple stalks until after Christmas and harvested them from under a few inches of snow - I get small but very flavorful sprouts.
The other staples of my 4 4x8 foot beds are generally peas, lettuce, beans, tomatoes and sweet and hot peppers - they are long gone.
Hoping to get our first asparagus next spring.

Other orchard fruit include peaches, raspberries, apples, and a few pears that the squirrels leave me and occasional plums

[SarinaP]

Yum! I forgot, we've got an asparagus bed too--we add about 5 more crowns each year, so I'm hoping to expand it. This is its 3rd year.

[figgrower]

I grow garlic, onions, several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, apples, grapes, pears, Kabocha squash, Big Max pumpkins, Cocozelle zucchini, blackberries, raspberries, Marshmallow, Calendula, Chamomile, rhubarb, and figs.

[aphahn]

In addition to figs and fruit (see the link in my sig for what that includes) I grow the typical garden veggies, lots of herbs and have a passion for finding and growing wild flowers from seed.
Some of the more interesting experiments I have been running are:

Finding crops I can grow in the garlic and shallot beds after the harverest and before the next planting. So far amaranth, buckwheat, and oats seem promising even if the first the only get used for chicken feed.

Winter crops for the summer veg beds. Trying rye, barley, favas, kale. Would love to find a rotation that works for us here One Straw Revolution style.

Three sisters planting. Growing traditional south west crops (corn, squash, beans) in a bed together, but my twist is to have a deep layer of wood chips inoculated with King Straphoria mushrooms. First year, but looks promising.

Perennial veg, Caucasian Moutian Spinach (Hablitzia tamnoides) is my current crush. Asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb are other favorites. Trying to incorporate nitrogen fixers with them to help keep the beds self sustaining. Alfalfa seems to do well, clover also.

Kidoponics is not working so well, they keep getting all pruny and are far too demanding about water temperature. Thinking I may have to bite the bullet and raise them inside :P They are just sooooo messy.

[SarinaP]

How cool! Your post reminded me--I've been reading about ever-lasting garlic beds, basically combining traditional seed garlic with letting some go to seed and dropping the bulbils each year. Supposedly you only harvest from quadrants of a 4-square and the other 2 keep the rest going for the next year. Worth a shot!

[aphahn]

Very interesting. I'll have to give that a shot too. I wonder if I could rotate favas or some other n fixer through the quadrants too...